When Love was Wilder than the Wind
by OxWiCkEdOnExO
Summary: I'll always be here for you. I'm not going anywhere. Not just yet. Just close your eyes, Hermione, and pretend it's all a bad dream. -AU PreDH-


My name is Anna and here's my song:

If you think I own this, you've got it all wrong.

I own the plot, I own the land

But not Harry's thin scar or Ron's big hands

The song, as well, does not belong to me

It clearly belongs to Edmee and D.H.T.

I must also give thanks to "Alagaesia Rocks"

Because she first used the song, and her fic rocked my socks.

So after you've read, and of course, reviewed

Check out hers because it's really good too.

That's my song, I've sang enough

Now enjoy this bit of dramatic fluff.

**:o)**

"…**When Love was Wilder than the Wind…"**

**_I know there__'__s something__ in the wake of your smile_**_  
__**I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah**__  
_**_You__'__ve built a love but that love falls apart_**_  
__**Your little piece of heaven turns too dark**_

The wind howled viciously outside the creaking, dirty windows. This old rickety shack had become Harry, Hermione, and Ron's safe-haven for the last two weeks, now. They were a few miles out of town and away from Godric's Hollow. Hagrid had written them a letter telling them of this hideaway days before they left the Burrow.

The three of them had made several trips to the ruins of Harry's house but so far they hadn't found very much. The first day they were there, though, Harry had made them stay for a few hours just walking around the empty lot. Hermione had tried plenty of spells to try and see if there was anything underneath the soil -perhaps something that was left behind from the ruble- but there was nothing to be found. After their many visits to the spot, however, people were beginning to notice and word was starting to spread around the Muggle town about the strangers that were investigating the vacant lot down the road. Harry had felt it had become unsafe for them in Godric's Hollow so they decided that they were going to leave and go somewhere new. Where this new place was, Harry hadn't told Ron and Hermione yet but they trusted that he knew best.

They had spent the entire day packing their few belongings and shrinking their trunks to pocket-size so they could travel lightly. Now, as Ron lay on the floor alongside Harry, he felt restless. He hadn't been able to sleep for these last two weeks, but then again, he knew none of them had. They all had little bags underneath their eyes showing this lack of rest. Still, every night Ron would lie down next to Harry and pretend to drift off to sleep, snoring loudly, hoping to comfort his best friend. But tonight Ron couldn't even pretend to go to sleep, he felt far too anxious. Unable to bear it anymore, he stood up quietly and headed down to the "living room" of the shack which was really just a dirty, dusty couch in front of an equally dirty, dusty fireplace. They had yet to light the fire for fear that someone might spot it and find them.

The stairs creaked and squeaked loudly and Ron prayed that he hadn't disturbed Hermione but he knew that he had. As he reached the final step he saw her sitting on the floor in front of the couch with a blanket covering her legs. It had been unusually cold these last couple of days, and it was even colder in the shack. Hermione didn't turn to look at him as he sat down next to her. They were silent mostly, both lost deep in their thoughts.

"Hello, Ron." Hermione finally whispered.

"Hello, Hermione." He returned.

"Couldn't sleep either?" She asked, turning to look at him with a tiny smile on her face. Oh, her smile always made his stomach do flips. He had spent so many days etching it into his memory, every line it made on her face, every curve, every dimple, every crease, he knew by heart. But this smile was different, it wasn't that same smile he had seen on her face after he had let her beat him at chess, or when he made a funny joke about Snape. This smile was hardly a smile at all. There was very little joy in it anymore. He searched her eyes, now, for an explanation to her faded smile. He found doubt there. He found lots of doubt and lots of fear. He couldn't exactly blame her though. They all had their doubts, and they were constantly in fear. But this was a new kind of fear for Hermione. She had started to doubt her own knowledge; she doubted the books, the lessons at Hogwarts, doubted all she knew. She was afraid that perhaps it wasn't good enough to get them through this war. She was afraid that what she knew wasn't the right thing to know and that she had wasted all these years studying words and spells that now could never help them. He saw all of this hidden deep in her gold-flecked, brown eyes. Her love of books and the library had suddenly let her down and she didn't know what to do. All that she had known now seemed worthless.

_**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_When he__'__s calling for you_**_  
__**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_There__'__s nothing else you can do_**_  
_**_I don__'__t know where you__'__re going_**_  
_**_And I don__'__t know why_**_  
__**But listen to your heart  
Before you tell him goodbye**  
_

"Hermione, do you want to talk?" Ron asked quietly. Hermione looked up at him surprised. They hadn't really talked in a long time, probably not since Bill and Fleur's wedding. Then, they had talked about the adventure ahead and had promised each other that if things were ever getting too hard to deal with then they would have another talk. They would rely on each other for council and not bother Harry with their fickle fears. He had far too much on his mind for them to toss their worries onto his. They figured that they could be there for each other instead.

"What would you like to talk about?" Hermione asked although she knew very well what he wanted to talk about. But Hermione some how doubted that Ron would want to talk about how scared he was. Ron would never admit that he was scared, at least not to her.

"I'm worried, Hermione. I'm worried about Harry. You know that I would follow him to the ends of the earth and beyond but, it's just that… well… I'm worried that he's losing us." Ron said his voice shaking slightly.

"What do you mean? We're not going anywhere. We would never leave him to fight this all alone." Hermione exclaimed. Ron shushed her and she apologized.

"I don't mean it that way. I mean, I'm worried that's he's losing us because he's drifting so far away. I know he's not going to be whole by the end of this war, I'm not that stupid, but I just don't want to lose him now before it's even started. After all, how can he fight V-Voldemort, a selfish, heartless, beast when he, himself, barely has a heart?" Ron asked his voice cracking a few times. Hermione looked deeply into Ron's eyes and took his cold, dirty hands in her own. They hadn't been able to bathe as often as they might have liked.

"Ron Weasley, the only reason Harry wouldn't have a heart by the time we fight Voldemort, would be if we have failed him. That is our real purpose in this war. We are here to keep him alive, to keep his heart alive. And if we give up on him and let him fall away then it will be our fault that we lost. And we cannot lose, Ron." Hermione whispered fiercely. Ron nodded but his gaze fell to their hands.

_  
__**Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile**__  
**The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yeah  
They**_**_'__re swept away and nothing is what is seems_**_  
__**The feeling of belonging to your dreams**__  
_

"Do you ever wonder if this fight is worth it, 'Mione? I mean, we've lost so many things –so many people- along the way." Ron asked her, almost choking on his own words.

"Ron, I wonder that every moment of my life. I wonder what life would be like if I had never met you or Harry. I wonder what life would be like if someone else had saved me from that troll. I wonder what life would be like if-" She suddenly stopped and threw her hand over her mouth and tears began pouring out of her eyes.

"What? What is it, Hermione?" Ron asked worriedly, sitting up on his knees and taking her hands back into his own and forcing him to look up into his face.

"I sometimes wonder what life would be like if Voldemort had killed Harry in front of the Mirror of Erised. I wonder what life would be like if Harry hadn't shoved the beazor down your throat and you had died from the poison. I sometimes wonder what it would be like if I had looked the basilisk in the eyes. And I hate, hate, HATE myself for that!" She cried and her body suddenly collapsed into Ron's arms and she shook violently with tears.

Ron was speechless. All he could do was pat her on the back and hold her in his strong arms.

"Shh. Hermione, just relax. Hah, such a stupid thing to say, isn't it? Relax? I'm here for you, Hermione. Remember that. I'll always be here for you. I'm not going anywhere. Not just yet. Just close your eyes, Hermione, and pretend it's all a bad dream."

_  
__**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_When he__'__s calling for you_**_  
__**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_There__'__s nothing else you can do_**_  
_**_I don__'__t know where you__'__re going_**_  
_**_And I don__'__t know why_**_  
__**But listen to your heart**__  
__**Before you tell him goodbye**__  
_

"I can't lose you Ron! I can't lose Harry, either! I won't be able to go on if I do! You're my only real friends. Without you I have nobody. I need you… I need you…" Hermione sobbed into his chest. Ron suddenly grabbed onto her shoulders and pulled her away from him.

"Now you listen to me, right now, Hermione Granger. You will never, ever tell yourself that you are going to lose Harry and me again. Alright? This is not over yet! You cannot be weak anymore, do you understand that? If we are weak then Harry is weak. We are here for him, remember? You said it! That is our purpose for being here. This is our destiny! We have to be strong for him. We cannot give up on him! He's never given up on us, has he?" Ron said his voice sounding a lot stronger then he felt at that very moment. He shook Hermione gently and her eyes began to dry, but there were clean streaks down her face like scars from her tears.

_  
__**And there are voices**__  
__**That want to be heard**__  
__**So much to mention**__  
__**But you can't find the words  
**_**_The scent of magic  
The beauty that__'__s been_**_  
__**When love was wilder than the wind**__  
_

Ron looked straight into her eyes and his heart began to swell. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for since the day he saw her walk into the Great Hall, holding onto Krum's arm. He had gone through his own little speech over and over again in his mind, always trying to find the right time to tell her how he felt. But every time he had tried, he had lost his courage. This time was different though. This time he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"Hermione Granger, I love you."

Well, so much for his speech.

"What?" She said quietly as her cheeks flushed pink underneath the dirt and grim (that couch was awfully dirty, and she had been sleeping on it for the last two weeks, after all).

"I said I love you." He stated dumbly. Hermione's eyes had become very wide and her mouth had dropped open. Ron moved one of the large hands that had been on her shoulder and with his finger, gently shut her mouth.

"Sorry." She whispered and she then looked down at the ground.

"Well?"

_  
__**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_When he__'__s calling for you_**_  
__**Listen to your heart**__  
_**_There__'__s nothing else you can do_**_  
_**_I don't know where you__'__re going_**_  
_**_And I don__'__t know why_**_  
__**But listen to your heart**__  
**Before you tell him goodbye**__  
_

"Ron, you know that we can't leave Harry out on his own. Not to mention, this is not the perfect time-"

"Then when is?" He asked loudly and Hermione shushed him and he lowered his voice. "When is the perfect time? When we've both died? Hermione I've been living with this feeling for far too long to just sit her and take it back! This is the _only_ time. There is a war raging right outside that door and I'm telling you now that I love you. Are you really just going to sit there and tell me that this isn't a good time?" He whispered his ears turning pink in a slight rage.

"It's just that I don't think you should be telling me you love me right now. We're both very vulnerable and I don't want you saying something that you might not mean-" She whispered.

"I meant it. Hermione, I mean it with all of my heart. I've wanted to tell you since the summer before fifth year. Trust me, 'Mione, I mean it." Ron said and Hermione felt her heart jump in to her throat.

"Really?"

"Really."

_  
**Listen to your heart...mm..mmm**  
_

"I love you too, Ron Weasley." Hermione whispered, her voice barely audible over the rushing of the wind outside.

"Really?" He asked with all that was left of his sweet boyish charm.

"Really." She replied.

_**I don't know where you're going**__  
__**And I don't know why**__  
__**But listen to your heart**__  
__**Before you tell him goodbye**_

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the top of the staircase. They looked over to see Harry at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in almost all black, holding the Invisibility Cloak underneath one arm.

"Well, I figured there was no use in any of us pretending to sleep for any longer. We might as well get a move on, right?" He asked but he still spoke quietly.

"Right." Ron said and he picked up Hermione's blanket and folded it in a not-so-neat manner and shrank it down to a small size before shoving it into his pocket. He stood up and looked down. "Hermione?" He asked, as he offered her his hand. She smiled and took it gratefully and stood up.

"Let's go." She said. Harry looked from Ron to Hermione and then back again.

"Did I miss something?" He asked.

"No, Harry. You haven't missed anything." Ron said.

"Are you sure you two want to keep going? You can go back at any time." Harry reminded them for what felt like the hundredth time.

"We know, mate." Ron said walking over to him and putting a strong hand on his shoulder.

"We're going with you, Harry. There's no getting rid of us now." Hermione said as she too walked over to him and placed a small hand on his arm.

"I guess I'm stuck with you, guys, aren't I?" Harry asked with a tiny flicker of a smile on his lips.

"I guess so, mate."

And with those words Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over their heads and they ran off into the night.

**The End.**


End file.
